A NORTHSIDE TD has called for household bin collections to be brought back under the control of local authorities.
Dublin Bay North TD Denise Mitchell (SF) said it is time for an urgent review of waste policy.
“Local authorities successfully managed waste collection for decades across the State, and then it was privatised,” said Deputy Mitchell.
“We are now the only State in Europe that has completely privatised our waste collection service and allows private operators compete directly against each other.
“This has led to increased costs to households and as we have seen in places like Dublin there has been an upsurge in illegal dumping and illegal landfills being run by rogue operators.
“Earlier this year, South Dublin County Council passed a motion tabled by Sinn Féin Mayor Mark Ward calling for the re-municipalisation of waste collection services and this was followed by a similar motion being passed by Dublin City Council.
“We in Sinn Féin are calling for this issue to be examined by the Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and the Environment.
“It is also our view that a franchise model of waste collection be introduced as a first step towards re-municipalisation so local councils can insist on proper standards of delivery, better controls, affordable prices for households and ending the ‘side-by-side’ waste collection system.
A spokesperson for Dublin City Council said: “The council vote agreed a motion to constitute a working group of councillors and officials to report on the feasibility of re-municipalisation of Dublin City waste collection service.
“The group is to meet in September and prepare a report for consideration by the elected members of the city council by November.”
The Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment said the obligations on local authorities in relation to collecting household waste are set out in the Waste Management Act 1996. In summary, it provides that:
• Each local authority shall collect, or arrange for the collection of, household waste within its functional area.
• The obligation to collect or arrange for the collection of household waste shall not apply if:
• an adequate waste collection service is available in the local authority's functional area,
• the estimated costs of the collection of the waste would, in the opinion of the local authority, be unreasonably high, or
• the local authority is satisfied that adequate arrangements for the disposal of the waste concerned can reasonably be made by the holder of the waste.
A spokesperson for the department told Northside People there are “no proposals” to change these arrangements at this time.
“It is always open to each local authority to re-enter the market on a commercial basis as they see fit and in line with legislation,” the spokesperson said.
“While charges applied by waste management companies are matters for those companies and their customers, there is no evidence to suggest that the phasing out of flat fee charges have led to an increase in illegal dumping.
“The response from community and voluntary groups across the country to the Department’s anti-dumping initiative demonstrates that the vast majority of citizens value and respect our environment and continue to manage their waste responsibly.
“Funding of €3 million has been allocated to the 2019 Anti-Dumping Initiative, an increase of 50 percent on last year, to support communities around the country to continue to tackle illegal dumping.
“Innovation, surveillance using drones, special collections for awkward items like mattresses, spreading awareness among young people and recognizing the work of volunteers are all features of this year’s campaign with over 280 projects approved for funding.”